I was chattering away at hubby over breakfast on Sunday talking fast and excitedly as I’m prone to do when I’m really passionate about something.
He made careful work of his breakfast while I was shooting things off at him wondering when on EARTH the waitress might wander back and bring me more coffee….for real.
What passionate thing was I engaging him in ?
Something that has gotten closer to my heart more and more in the past couple years.
Health. Fitness. Wellness. Being empowered and strong… and more importantly… wanting it for others… to help them achieve that.
Here you thought I was gonna say running… didn’t you ? Well, you know I’m passionate about that, but we’ll save that for another blog 😉
I am passionate about people “getting” it. When they figure out there’s no magic pill or secret formula, shake, drink or potion. When they get off the crazy carousel diet wagon. When they understand they can do things in a sane and sensible way and lose weight and still have a life….
When they find the balance that works for them that’s sustainable and allows them success.
I freaking love that.
But what I was particularly going on about with hubby was this…
I was reflecting on how people give up, give in, and walk away from the very thing they want to accomplish.
They quit. As if quitting is going to get them closer to their goals they have set for themselves. Why do so many quit? Give up? Throw in the proverbial towel ?
I’ll tell you. (uh… did I mention this might be a rather hard hitting post? )
Losing weight and getting fit requires A LOT of sacrifice. It requires a level of discipline that can make people uncomfortable. It means getting out of your comfy comfort zone. And honestly, it’s more than some want to give, and they quit.
I saw a meme on Facebook recently that said “There are only two options: Make progress, or make excuses.”
If we are to be successful in our pursuit of being healthy, fit and strong, we need to focus on slow, steady, and constant progress.
The other option is where people make excuses and quit. There’s always a reason “why” they aren’t being successful or a reason why they can’t eat better or exercise or ate half a tray of brownies.
I’ve worked with some people who I (think) expected that somehow I’d lose the weight for them, or be along to slap food out of their hands.
It doesn’t work like that. It does come down to this….
You’ve got to determine you want it bad enough…for you. Not for your bf/gf, husband, wife, or anyone else… it’s got to be for you. And no one can do it …for you.
And then… then comes the hard part… because to do this…to get on the wagon and get moving… requires that sacrifice I was talking about.
Self care requires sacrifice.
Sacrificing old ways, old beliefs.
Sacrificing ways of eating, things that you do eat, how you eat, and how much of it you eat.
Sacrificing time to get out and get your body moving in purposeful exercise on a daily basis. Sacrificing your comfort for discomfort that comes with exerting your body in new ways.
Sacrificing your sense of “entitlement” that you should be able to have or eat certain foods in the amounts you want.
Sacrificing old habits for new ones.
It’s not easy boys and girls. I’d be lying if I said changing ingrained eating habits you’ve had for years and training your body to like exercise ( and look forward to it!) is easy.
On my journey I’ve had good days and bad days. Days I didn’t WANT to exercise and couldn’t imagine a day that it would be so ingrained in me that I couldn’t imagine NOT doing it. I’ve had days where I knew I ate more than I needed or ate when I knew I wasn’t truly hungry. I just shook it off and kept moving forward. In time, the bad days became less, as my new habits settled into place.
Remember what I said about so many quitting the process….you must take some not so good days on your journey along with the ones that make you feel on top of the world… and keep moving forward.
But… it’s so worth the effort invested… the sacrifice you will make. So worth your time to take care of your body…. which contributes to all of your overall health ( mental and spiritual too) and no, it’s not selfish. ( we’ll talk more on that in another post)
Which brings me back to my passion… to help others get it.. to encourage them that those daily sacrifices they make will in time add up and it really will get easier and become much more of a habit to do than something they have to “make” themselves do.
Maybe you’ve sidelined yourself more times than you can count. Perhaps you’ve given up after a few weeks declaring it was just “to hard” or “nothing is happening”. You’ve allowed self-defeating talk to rule you and your choices.
Come closer and I will tell you something…. are you ready ?
You don’t have to stay in that place. You have everything in you to be successful and achieve your goals.
Yes, sacrifice and struggle will be involved. Yes, there are times it will not be easy.
Don’t quit… you’ll never arrive if you do.
In the end though, you’ll see, it was all worth it.
sassyfitnesschick 